Paul Revere by Tom Reynolds
The anniversary of the Battle of Lexington and Concord is coming up, which means that Paul revere’s ride will also be celebrated. Kostya Kennedy’s book “The Ride” gives some interesting insights on Revere and the ride.
Revere is famous for being a silversmith, but he was also a self-taught dentist! Personally, if I needed dental work, I’d rather have a dentist who is a self-taught silversmith than a silversmith who is a self-taught dentist.
Revere had several other rides before the BIG ONE. He had taken dispatches from Boston to New York City and Philadelphia, which were very long rides. He was reimbursed for his time and expenses on these rides.
Revere was an accomplished horseman but he did not own a horse. He rented or borrowed his horses. The horse he rode on his famous ride was named “Brown Beauty.”
Longfellow wrote about Revere getting the warning signal by lanterns in the steeple of the Old North Church,
“One if by land and two if by sea
I on the opposite shore shall be.”
Not true. Revere had not crossed the Charles River to the opposite shore when the lanterns were displayed. He was actually the one who told the lantern man to put two in the steeple. The lanterns were to alert patriots on the other side of the river who had been warned to keep a look out and what the signal meant
The lantern man did not hang them but held the lanterns for a very short time. The fear was that the British soldiers would see them and investigate, since lanterns were not normally put in the steeple.
Revere rowed across the Charles River in close proximity to a British ship, the Somerset. The Somerset was watching for rebels escaping Boston but did not see him.
William Dawes also rode warning the countryside but he was ignored by Longfellow. Dawes also worked as a spy and often pretended to be drunk and asleep in a tavern in order to overhear information.
To get out of Boston, Dawes had to pass a British guardhouse. To do that, he fell in with some British officers and they rode past the guardhouse without being stopped.
Dawes took a southern route and Revere took a northern route which was much the same as the British army would take a few hours later. Part of the way into the ride, Revere was spotted by a British patrol. He reversed his path and outran the patrol but ended up taking an even more northern route than planned.
Revere arrived a half hour before Dawes at Lexington and warned John Hancock and Sam Adams that the British were coming to capture those two. Then, Revere and Dawes left to alert Concord to move their gunpowder. (Think about that, the Revolutionary War started because the British were seizing the patriots’ ammunition. Kathy Hochul is the successor to the Redcoats!)
Along the way, they met a third patriot, a doctor returning from a house call, and he joined them. Those three ran into yet another British patrol. Revere was captured but Dawes and the doctor escaped, although Dawes was thrown from his horse and continued on foot.
Revere was questioned along with three patriots that the patrol had previously captured. The other three were subsequently released and they went on to warn Concord. But Revere was kept and the British patrol headed back toward the army coming from Boston. Revere convinced the British that there were hundreds of Minutemen gathering and they would soon be surrounded. When they heard some shots in the distance, the British set Revere’s horse free and they fled without him. Revere then walked to the house where Hancock and Adams were now staying.
Revere finished his famous ride on foot!
Revere, Hancock, Adams and John Lowell left for a safer place. Later, they remembered that they had forgotten John Hancock’s trunk full of incriminating documents. Revere and Lowell went back and got the trunk and carried it through the patriot militia’s lines on Lexington Green, as they were facing off against the British army. Revere and Lowell had just passed through the lines when they heard “The Shot Heard Round the World.”
